My PB + J

chicken apple sausage gourmet pizza {hillshire farms sponsored post & giveaway}

My family loves Hillshire Farm products. I remember as a child my Dad making kielbasa with onions and barbeque sauce. I loved that dish so creating my own dishes using Hillshire Farm quality meat products for my family brings back so many memories while creating new ones.

While at BlogHer my first booth visit on the expo floor was to the Hillshire Farm booth. I quickly realized that I was able to create my own dish with their new gourmet creations fully cooked sausage. I can still taste that dish and have been dreaming about what I could make using the chicken apple with gouda sausage. I thought and thought and finally came up with a gourmet pizza using the chicken apple with gouda sausage as the star ingredient. The pizza was probably the best pizza I have ever tasted in terms of flavor combinations. Here’s what I did:

Start off with Hillshire Farm Gourmet Creations Chicken Apple with Gouda smoked sausage. 
Ingredients – walnuts, granny smith apple, caramelized red onion and sliced dates (not pictured) 

Slice the sausage and cook according to package directions.  

Your going to need pizza dough. Whether you make it or buy it, it’s up to you. I got mine from my old employer and fav pizza place. You can go to any pizza place and ask them to purchase a ball of dough, avoid chain pizza places because they will not. My dough gave me enough to make two mediums and one mini. 

Roll your dough out – make sure to let your dough rest before rolling out. Otherwise you might not get anywhere and you’ll be playing a fun tug-of-war game with the dough. 
Next, take a fork and poke holes all over the dough except for the crust area. This pizza is essentially sauce-less so drizzle some EVOO on the crust and spread it around. 
You have to have cheese for pizza, how much you use is up to you. I used mozzarella as the base and dollops of ricotta on the top. 

After you have the oil spread around, sprinkle the cheese. Have your kids help with this, it makes it more fun and they feel like they are helping. Next layer. the cooked sausage. 

Once you have the base done add the remaining ingredients: caramelized onions, sliced apples, walnuts, dates and then creamy morsels of ricotta goodness. Bake at 450º for about 20 minutes or until golden and bubbly. 
voila! An amazing gourmet pizza in the comforts of your own home! 
Want to try this recipe out for yourself? Hillshire Farm is giving one MY PB+J reader three coupons valued at $17.97 to use on any product. Enter the rafflcopter form below to win! 

Hullabaloo Family Arts Festival #familyartsfestsd {san diego activity}


The Hullabaloo Family Arts Festival is right around the corner and this year it’s being held at the gorgeous NTC park in Liberty Station. We cannot wait to spend the day enjoying the music, crafts and memories that are in store for us. 

The important details:

Date: Saturday, September 22nd
Time:  11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Location:  Liberty Station NTC Promenade, also know as the North Promenade
Admission:  $7 per person; children under the age of 1 are free; 
Family Pack of tickets: $20 for up to five family members total! The family pack can only be purchased the day of. 


Purchase tickets here. If you order your tickets in time you will be sent a wristband in the mail so that you can “waltz right in” to the event. How convenient! 

Here’s a glimpse of what the festival has to offer –  

Music – 
Families can look forward to hearing two sets of Hullabaloo, but that’s not all!  We will also be joined by Patty Hall, and The Hollow Trees.  Sets will go on throughout the festival. 

Food – 
Families can bring their own food this year, or enjoy food from one of four food trucks coming. Make sure to bring cash with you. I know I will make sure to have cash this time around – who can say no to a food truck?

Miho Gastro Truck (2)
Food Farm San Diego
Mr. Groggy’s


Children’s Literature Zone –
We’ve paired up with Yellow Book Road to create a relaxing escape where you can hear local San Diego authors read their own books!  Come hear books read by

Kathryn Cloward — Kathryn the Grape
Charles Johnson — Storyteller
Luciana Navarro Powell — My Dad is the Best Playground
Terry Kraszewski — Surf Angel
Joann Woolley — Sign4Baby (signing story time)
Darren Perman — Wookiwoo, I Love You
Jeff Garcia — Santa and the Molokai Mules


Yellow Book Road is also working on having a character come- more info on that coming soon!

Creativity Zone – 
Our friends at Art Soup, drop-in art studio in Encinitas, have signed on to provide a full day of art activities at the festival. They always come prepared with fun, creative activities and a great staff to make it fun and easy.

A special thanks to the Festival Sponsors:
Clif Kids, Urban Sitter, SoCal Kids San Diego, Andersen by Design, and Mon Petit Chateau 

You can enter to win a prize pack for the Hullabaloo Family Arts Festival on MY PB+J! 


One winner will receive:

  • one Family Pack of tickets, good for up to 5 people (children under 1 year are free)
  • A Clif Kid goodie bag
  • A free pass to Mon Petit Chateau, good for a one-day visit, up to three children (siblings only)
  • one $50 gift card to Renewal By Andersen Windows
  • 1 pass to Smart Kids Time, courtesy of SoCal Kids San Diego
  • 1 family pass to the Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theatre, also courtesy of SoCal Kids San Diego
  • $20 of babysitting services from Urban Sitter!
Want to win this amazing prize pack? Here’s how:
Leave me a comment telling me what you’re looking forward to most about the festival… That’ it!  


Giveaway winners will collect their giveaway prize when admitted to the festival – you must be able to attend the festival on September 22nd to be eligible to win! Enter to win by commenting below. 



Disclaimer: I received a complimentary family four pack of tickets. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I personally use and believe will be good for my readers.

SD Mom’s Night Out One-Year Anniversary {san diego activity}


You’re Invited to Be Yourself!
As a mom we wear a lot of costumes; teacher, nurse, chef, maid – you name it! We spend most of our days dressing up in so many different costumes except for the one that matters most, ourselves! I love attending the SD Mom’s night out events because I can be myself and I get to mingle with women just like me and did I mention, uninterrupted? 
In celebration of the SD Mom’s Night Out One-Year Anniversary and Halloween, we invite you to enjoy a night out at Kin Spa at Manchester Grand Hyatt as your fabulous self.











1 Market Place  San Diego, CA 92101
When: Friday, October 26 from 7-10pm
Cost: $40 Presale, $50 at the door
*$35 for the first 35 people who register!


Our beneficiary for this event is Foundation for Women, a non-profit organization located in San Diego dedicated to eliminating global poverty through microcredit loans.



To support this organization, a portion of each ticket you purchase will go to Amanda Taylor, a local single mom who is a member of the Foundation for Women. We are also selling coffee (Foundation for Women’s Micro Loan Blend) made from Women Entrepreneurs. All coffee proceeds will support our beneficiary. *Coffee will be distributed at the event and can be purchased online.

Tickets Include:
      • A donation to Amanda Taylor – Foundation for Women
      • Complimentary parking or Valet for $10 at Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego
      • Entrance to Kin Spa and pool deck at Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego
      • 3 raffle tickets
      • Opportunity to win prizes from our amazing sponsors including the Grand Prize of (1) Night Stay at Manchester Grand Hyatt and spa treatment for (2) at Kin Spa
      • Free flowing wine throughout the evening
      • Light appetizer fare
      • Complimentary indoor/outdoor spa services from Kin Spa
      • Special discounted menu for spa services purchased at the event
      • Kin Spa Swag Bags for the first 200 guests
      • Special Swag Bags for the first 50 guests
      • Discounted room rates for guests who want to stay overnight
      • A fabulous night out as YOURSELF!
Event covered by:

stick with it {product review & giveaway}

While grabbing my daily dose of caffeine one morning at my local Coffee Bean I met the wonderfully sweet owner and designer, Monetta, of Stick With It cosmetic palette. Stick With It is relatively new to the market and honestly it’s unique in terms of the other free form cosmetic palettes on the market. You see, this palette unlike any other palette has a sticky surface so all you have to do it un-pot your current cosmetic, set it and go! No magnets needed! Your make-up is tightly secured throughout transit and depending on the trip, the outfit or occasion you can design a customized palette and re-design it to go with you. 
When you first open your Stick With It palette you will notice the thin velum type paper. This paper acts as a separator so when you close your filled palette the colors don’t mix. If powder becomes loose you can simply take a damp cloth or towel with rubbing alcohol to clean the surface, once the surface dries it becomes sticky again, never losing the original sticky surface! How genius is this?
The palette truly does fit a lot! I didn’t de-pot my eyeshadows because I did not want to crack them, however, MAC, and other cosmetic brands do sell their products for palettes. I do love how easy it was to pop my eyeshadows out of the original packaging and how easily they stuck to the surface. Even though they are not fully de-potted the 7″ x 3.5″ palette fit everything pictured above. 
After about a month of use you can see some dust build-up around the edges. I did take a cotton swab to the surface with some make-up remover, rubbing alcohol and water and it would not come off. One of the only things that I would change about the product is that it could be slightly deeper. Regardless, this palette has made my mornings so much faster having my favorite eyeshadows already organized versus lying in bag getting jumbled as I look through the fading font to find the right shade. 

Stick With It is an essential accessory to add to your cosmetic routine. The companies mantra and daily reminder, “you only get out of life what you put into it, so Stick With It!” was a dream of the retired US Navy Veteran. I don’t know about you, but for me seeing this reminder each day surely helps me stick to my goals and dreams as I am getting ready to tackle my busy day. 
The palette is retailing for $28 on www.stickwithitpalette.com and is beginning to be distributed worldwide. Support a dream!
Want to win one? 
Enter MY PB+J’s “All Dolled Up” Giveaway. 
A $50 prize pack that includes:
(1) Stick With It Palette – (1) Kiss imPRESS press-on manicure – (1) Kiss eyelash adhesive – (1) Kiss strip eyelashes – (1) $5 Target GC
See rafflecopter below! 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

two handle no-spill sippy cup {nûby mommy blogger review}

One of the amazing perks of being a Nûby Mommy Blogger is that my family gets to review amazing  Nûby products! Over the next few months I will be sharing these products with you. For my third review I would like to introduce you to the two-handle no-spill cup .  
Brayden is just a few weeks away from turning eleven months. With that being said we are beginning to transition him from bottles to sippy cups. The two handle no-spill sippy cups are always my favorite to start the kids off with. Not only does it make it easier for their little hands to hold it also doesn’t spill, and let me tell you, this is the biggest plus! There are so many cups out there that advertise that they are no-spill and without fail I have spilled milk all over my freshly cleaned sofa. The Nûby no-spill cup holds true to this and if there were one kid who would find a way to spray milk everywhere it would be our messy little boy. This is why Nûby cups are always my go-to for both of our children. 

Right away Brayden latched onto the two handles and began to drink his juice. You could tell he loved the soft, yet durable silicone spout because he kept gnawing on it. I also believe that it was aiding as a teether as we are waiting on tooth number eight to pop through. 

He clung to his newly found friend for over an hour. I’d say this transition will be pretty easy thanks to the Nûby two-handle no-spill cup! 

Do you have a little about to transition from bottle to sippies? Or, do you have a toddler in need of a no-spill cup? Look no further! You can purchase this product and many other Nûby products  from www.buybabydirect.com & www.kmart.com. 
disclaimer: I received  the product listed above for review purposes only. However, all opinions expressed are 100% my own and I only recommend products that I would personally use or believe my readers would enjoy.